Nicholas Kolakowski

LAS VEGAS-Long before Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stepped onstage to give the opening keynote of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), chatter among analysts and pundits focused on a handful of key show themes: ultrabooks, Windows 8 and Nokia’s attempt to emerge as a significant player in the U.S. smartphone market. Ballmer’s keynote-very likely the […]

Microsoft’s appearance at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show came with a little bit more than the usual drama. By the time CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage Jan. 9 to deliver his opening keynote address, it’d been known for several weeks that Microsoft was pulling out of the massive show for the foreseeable future. “We […]

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform managed to gather some buzz coming out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, largely on the strength of Nokia’s Lumia 900, which made its debut in the context of the event. According to a document posted on the Nokia Developer Website, the Lumia 900 will appear in the […]

Nokia’s high-end Lumia 900 smartphone will appear in the United States in March, according to a newsletter posted on the Nokia Developer Website. “It will become available exclusively through AT&T in March,” read the newsletter. “With support for AT&T’s 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network, the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone will offer high-performance web browsing with […]

Microsoft and LG Electronics have signed a patent-licensing agreement for the latter’s Google Android devices. Although neither company disclosed the exact terms, similar agreements have seen manufacturers paying Microsoft royalties for each Android device created. Microsoft has argued for some time that Android violates several of its patents. The agreement with LG Electronics also covers […]

Google’s new “Search, plus your world” social search feature, which layers search-results pages with information from Google+, is already attracting considerable attention from privacy advocates. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking for an investigation into the new feature. When activated as a part of […]

LAS VEGAS-Research In Motion used the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), arguably the tech world’s highest-profile venue, to finally unveil the long-awaited software update for its PlayBook tablet. Dubbed PlayBook OS 2.0, the software update includes features demanded by users when the 7-inch tablet made its initial debut in April 2011. In addition to integrated messaging […]

Samsung Galaxy Note The Samsung Galaxy Note is something of a hybrid: with its 5.3-inch screen, it works as a small tablet—but the device’s 4G LTE connection (via AT&T) also makes it a smartphone. A stylus (which Samsung dubs the “S Pen” for “advanced smart pen”) reinforces the whole “notepad” concept. Note Hardware The Samsung […]

PlayBook OS 2.0 In February, RIM will release PlayBook OS 2.0 for downloading, finally issuing a revamp promised almost since the tablet launched in April 2011. Integrated Email The PlayBook’s new integrated messaging app lets users combine their email accounts with the messaging platforms for social-networking Websites such as LinkedIn. Rich Text When composing emails, […]

LAS VEGAS-Can Nokia make inroads into the U.S. smartphone market? The Finnish phone maker has certainly managed to attract buzz at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here, where its products on display include the high-end Lumia 900 and 800 and the more midmarket Lumia 710. Ever since Nokia opted to abandon its homegrown operating […]

LAS VEGAS-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage here Jan. 9 for what could very well be his last keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). As predicted by many in the tech media, his talk focused primarily on Windows Phone, Microsoft’s designs on living-room entertainment and the upcoming Windows 8. But most of […]

Ballmer and Seacrest Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage Jan. 9 for what probably will be his last keynote address at CES. Television personality Ryan Seacrest engaged him in a question-and-answer session about various Microsoft products such as Windows 8. Metro As the unifying theme of his speech, Ballmer talked about the “Metro” design […]